Pipe-line reclaimer



Oct. 9, 1945. K. c. .KNAPP PIPE LINE RECLAIMER Filed Feb. 21, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w m, nm m M M H m wn W A: vr, 1 2 E .l 4/0 3 n 5 aryis, 1938.

' Patented Oct. 9, 1945 PATENT oFFiCE'ff .y reclaim. A' l'f'his iin/ieritionr relates to improvements in pipe line reclaimers and constitutesY an improvement over my prior Patent No. v2.105.602 issuedJ-anu- The apparatus 'herein' described is designe-defer ff(Cl.37-1) l Y w 1. Y

reclaiming`or`raisingrto-thesurface pipes buried Y beneath the ground.

.. In vtheordinary Aprocedure in recoveringburied pipesithas beencustomary' to dig a trench une -til the pipe is'exposed, then' towliftr theVA pipeV to the surface of the ground and lay-it' alongside ofthe trench after which the trench had-to be filled, all of which necessitated a vast amount y*of labor. 1 Y

The primaryobject ofthe. present inventionI is to loosen'the earthxabout the pipe and immediately thereafter to elevatethe pipe through the loosened earth to the ground level without the necessity of forming an .'open trench whichv later must be filled. Y

Among its features my invention embodies a trench cutter combined with a pipe-elevator'by means of which the pipe is automatically I4 to which a towing cable orchain I 5iS-at tached, it being understood that the opposite lend of this cable is secured toa tractoror `,other power device for exerting pullthereon to drag the .trench cutterv I IJ beneath the surface ofthe ground. Mounted on the ends of th'ellpivotn I3 on the outside of each of the blades II are vweed 'cutting disks I5 which also serve'tc loosenfthe The ends ofthe.

ground adjacenty its surface. Y Y Y blades Il opposite those which are connected to Vthe pivot pin I3 are pierced to receiv'eboltsl.

Connected to the bolts I6 are linksfl1 theopposite ends of which are provided with trunnions I8 which are receivedA in openings Reformed 4in the forward end of the shoe member Vdesignated generally 20. The shoe member 2]) comprises an elongated semi-cylindrical body 2| forming a trough or cradle which krides beneath theV pipe to be lifted as illustrated in Figure 1.' Formed at the forward end of the body 20 is a sharpened edge 22 and rising upwardly from theedge v22 toward the rear of the body 2| is a block/z3' iny-Y loosened from' its positionbeneath thesoi1 and Y.

Ycarried to the surface on top o'fthe loosened earth.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of my improved pipe reclaimerand elevator showing the 'sa'mein'fuse t Figure y2 is an enlarged side View'of the for'- ward end of the pipe engagingand loosening shoe and the -lower rear endsv of' the-'trench-Aeuttei' Figure 3 is a front end-view of .cutter blades, the operating clevis and the weed cutting wheels.

Figure 4 is a side view in elevation of the pipe elevating shoe, used in conjunction with my invention.

l Figure 5 is a rear'end view of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a plan View taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure '1 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure l, and

Figure 8 is an enlarged planl view of the forward end of the pipe elevator.

Referring to the drawings in detail my improved trench cutter designated generally III comprises a pair of cutting blades II which are sharpened along their forward edges I2 so as to cut and loosen the earth on opposite sides of the pipe to be extracted as will be more fully explained.` The upper forward ends of the blades II are pierced to receive a pivot pin I3 and mounted on the pin between the blades is a clevis 'member as byv chain ing an inclined surface 24 which forms a shoulder 25 near the'forward end'of the body" ZI. This block and body cooperate to form ag'plugh point which serves Vto dig beneathfthe Apipe as illustrated irn Figure v l 'and forms "the, bottom link of the excavating member III.l Projecting upwardly from the forward end of the bodygl lonopposite sides'are ears' 26 which arer pierced at 21 with an arcuate series of openings toreceive adjusting bolts 28 by means of Whichthe angular position ofthe links I 1 on the meni- Aber, may beadjuste'd.

Flexibly attached to'lfthe rear end off'the shoe links' 29 is a pipe elevator designated generally 30. This pipe elevator comprises a shoe 3l which is adapted to ride on the bottom of the trench produced by the shoe member 20 and supported on legs 32 which are welded to the upper edges of the body 3| as illustrated in Figure 5 is a pipe guide or cradle 33 which as shown in Figures 1 and 4 rises gradually from its forward sharpened end 34 to the rear end so that as the pipe is loosened from the earth and enters the cradle 33 it will be gently lifted by the forward motion of the apparatus.

Connected by a cable or drag line 35 the forward end of which is attached to the pin I3 and trailing some distance behind the equipment just described, is a cradle designated generally 36. This cradle comprises a transverselyl semi-circular'body 31 of a length to sustain a pipe without seriously bending it. The forward end of the body 31 is flared outwardly as at 38 (Figure 6) and secured as by welding adjacent opposite ends of the body 31 are straps 39 terminating in ears 40 which are pierced to receive chain links 4| the opposite ends of which are brought together at a central position above the body 36 and connected through a ring 42 which is suspended by a cable 43 from the boom of a boom tractor arranged to follow the equipment previously described.

In operation, a relatively short trench is rst cut in order to expose the pipe A for a short distance after which the shoe 20 is placed in position beneath the pipe. The links Il are then attached at the desired angle by moving them about their pivots and locking them in position by means of the bolt 23 after which the blades l i are attached to the opposite ends of the links il by means of the bolts I6. chain l5 is then secured to the clevis M and t0 the tractor or other pulling device to be ern- ,ployed 4 The lshoe 36 is next arranged beneath theipipeas illustrated in Figure l and attached `Joy-chain 29 `to the shoe 2,0 so that as the shoe 23 advancesthe elevatorwill .also move. Upon exerting .pull on the cable I5 it will be seen that `the device will drag along the underside of the pipe as illustrated in Figure 1 with the blades Il .serving as a trench cutter and the shoe 2.0 excavating beneath the pipe so that it can be readily .lifted by the elevator 39. Thus far the device is perfectlyworkable and can be used admirably in extracting a pipe from the earth without injury. In order, however, to elevate the pipe through theA loosened earth and deposit it on top thereof I'employ the elevator 38 which as shown is connected .by drag line 35 to the pivot I3 to which vthe clevis I4 is attached, it will thus be seen that as the trench cutter and pipe elevator move the elevating device 36 will likewise be move-d in unison therewith. In order that the pipe may be lifted to a height suiiicient to rest upon the loosened earth the elevator 36 issustained on cable 43 which, inv turn,is supported on the boom of a boom tractor arranged to follow the power tractor.

It will thus be seen that as the device advances the `earth above the pipe is loosened'and the pipe is lifted from the bottom of the trench thus formed and carried upwardly by means of the elevator 3S so that it rests upon the surface of the loosened earth ready for subsequent opera- While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred 'embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor. changes inthe details of construction, combina- The pulling cable or tion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A pipe extractor comprising the combination with a trench cutter comprising a pipe engaging shoe, a pair of spaced parallel trench cutting bars secured to the forward end of said shoe and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom, a clevis at the upper ends of said bars for attachment to a traction device and weed cutters adjacent the upper ends of the trench cutting bars, of an elevator comprising a pipe loosening and raising device attached to the rear .end of the trench cutter for starting the elevation ofka lburied pipe and an elevator adapted to travel near the surface of the ground in unison with the trench cutter for elevating the pipe and depositing it on the surface of the loosened earth lying in the trench.

2. vA pipe linereclaimer comprising the combination with angelongated semi-cylindrical pipe engaging shoeisolid at one end and open at its respective opposite end, said shoe at the solid end `having a beveled' surface, and also provided at said end-with upstanding ears projecting from opposite sides of the upper surface of the side Y walls'therecf, a pair of 'links pivoted in the ears,

means-to retain the links in various angular positions with relation to the shoe, trench cutter blades pivoted to the links and extending upwardly and forwardly from the shoe, a clevis pivoted to the upper ends of the trench cutting blades, of a pipe elevating device flexibly connected to the rear end of the shoe.

3. A pipe line reciaimer comprising the combination with an .elongated semi-cylindrical pipe engaging shoe solid at one end ,and open at its respectiveopposite end, said shoe at the solid end having a beveled Surface, and also provided at said end with upstanding ears projecting from .opposite sides of the upper surface of `the side Walls thereof, a 'pair of links pivoted in the ears,V means to'retain the links in various angular positions with relation to the shoe, trench cutter blades pivoted to the links` and extending upwardly and forwardly from the shoe, a clevis pivoted to the upper ends of the trench cutting blades, of a pipe elevating device flexibly connected `to the rear end 0f the shoe, a pipe elevating cradle having suspension means for holding it at the surface of the ground, and a tow line connecting the cradle with the upper forward ends of the trench cutting blades.

KENNETH C. KNAPP. 

